The real story behind the latest celebration of killer drug Celebrex
It’s a drug that should have been dead in the water years ago.
But now Big Pharma is prowling for millions of new customers instead.
For years I’ve been warning you about the dangers of Celebrex, Pfizer’s blockbuster arthritis drug. It keeps selling like hotcakes, even though it’s been linked to deadly heart attacks and strokes.
Now, researchers with deep drug company ties are claiming Celebrex could be the next great cure for cancer.
It’s a move that will put countless cancer patients in harm’s way. And it’s built on a big lie that Big Pharma doesn’t want you to know about.
By now, Celebrex has seen the inside of a courtroom more than Judge Judy.
Pfizer has paid millions to settle lawsuits over the drug — including $164 million to its own shareholders over allegations that it misrepresented how safe it is.
And Celebrex is the only “COX-2 inhibitor” left on the market after its close relatives Vioxx and Bextra were withdrawn because of heart attack risks.
You’d think Celebrex’s long rap sheet would be enough for both doctors and patients to steer clear of it.
But now, the Scripps Research Institute is touting Celebrex as a possible cancer cure.
A cancer med that could cause heart attacks or strokes? What could go wrong with that?
In a laboratory study, Scripps researchers said the drug slowed the rate of a specific cancer in animals, and they have high hopes it will do the same thing for other kinds of tumors.
One article is already calling it a potential cancer treatment!
But if you scratch a little below the surface, you’ll find out that Scripps has a long and profitable relationship with Big Pharma, and most especially with Celebrex maker Pfizer.
In 2006 Pfizer donated $100 million to the Institute in exchange for first rights to almost half of the discoveries Scripps made using that money.
When the $100 million licensing agreement with Pfizer expired, the Scripps VP of business development was quick to say that the Institute will continue to collaborate with the drugmaker in “undisclosed areas.”
Well, I think we just learned what those “undisclosed areas” are.
And the notion that Celebrex is some great new cancer cure isn’t just a lie — it’s a dangerous one that could put plenty of lives at risk.
Two cancer studies done over 10 years ago had to be stopped because the heart risks were so high. Several years later, a study to find out if Celebrex could prevent colon polyps instead discovered that the drug can double the risk of serious heart problems.
But, like I said, none of this seems to be stopping the Celebrex gravy train one bit.
It’s still raking in billions in sales. And just two years ago the FDA approved the generic version of Celebrex — celecoxib — to hit the shelf.
The real risk here is that doctors will start using Celebrex or its generic right away off-label on cancer patients, figuring it couldn’t hurt.
But the truth is, Celebrex isn’t safe for arthritis, cancer, or any other use Big Pharma dreams up.
That’s a lesson that too many innocent people have learned the hard way. And it’s important to make sure that you or someone you love isn’t next.
Sources:
“Scientists show commonly prescribed painkiller slows cancer growth” ScienceDaily, May 25, 2016, sciencedaily.com
